Get Freshened Up and Bring about Weight Loss with Tea

Tea has been a universal drink and by far the most popular one too. Though we typically drink the concoction of the tea leaves as tea, there are also many other versions of tea. People have been drinking all these teas mainly for getting a refreshed feeling which they need for work. But nowadays research has proved that tea can be used for weight loss too. Can tea indeed help in weight loss? If it can, which one? Let’s see.

Is Tea Good for Health?

Research has proved that tea has a high amount of health-promoting ingredients known as flavonoids which are believed to reduce inflammation and give protection against some serious diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

But does Tea Help Lose Weight?

Yes, some studies have proved that tea can help you lose some weight, especially if you do exercise and take a sensible diet with it.

The types of flavonoids in tea are known as catechins that are considered to boost metabolism and help in breaking down fats faster. Moreover, it has caffeine too which increases the use of energy leading to increased burning of calories. Both these ingredients work together to cause weight loss.

The best thing about tea is that after you lose weight, tea maintains it or further keeps reducing it by preventing slowdown of metabolism which is usually seen after shedding a few pounds with other weight loss techniques.

Types of Teas

Typically tea leaves are obtained from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. The difference lies in the processes they are passed through and as an outcome we get different types of teas.

Black Tea

Black tea is prepared by fermenting the tea leaves, a process which changes their chemical composition and increases the proportion of caffeine in it. The flavor of the tea also changes to stronger and more intense.

Research done on rats has suggested that polyphenols in black tea help prevent absorption of fats in the intestine. However, adding milk to black tea might limit this property.

Green Tea

Green tea typically isn’t fermented. Its leaves are just steamed and crushed by hand. Green tea has the highest content of the most potent variety of catechin, named as EGCG. Studies have shown that people taking green tea extract rich in EGCG or catechin-enhanced green tea lost a moderate amount of weight, i.e. around 3 pounds in 3 months. They even lost fat, particularly the stubborn belly fat.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is obtained by drying tea leaves in bright sunlight. This variety is also rich in catechins. Studies have shown that this tea also helped people lose weight and burn belly fat.

White Tea

White tea undergoes the least processing and has a light flavor. One study has shown that white tea increased the speed of breaking down existing fat cells and stopped the production of new ones.

Herbal Tea

Herbal tea is not exactly a tea because it is not made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis plant. Instead it is made from a variety of parts of other trees like fruits, flowers, roots, leaves and bark. The most popular herbal teas are dandelion tea, peppermint tea, ginger tea and chamomile tea.

Can Herbal Tea Help in Weight Loss?

Herbal tea is a very low-calorie drink and thus it can help you in reducing your calorie intake when you replace high-calorie beverages with it. Drinking only herbal tea and expecting weight loss may be wrong though. It should be accompanied by increased energy expenditure and a low-calorie diet.

Dandelion Tea

Dandelion is basically a potent diuretic and loses water weight of the body, and therefore you can use dandelion tea for weight loss. It’s also a low-calorie drink and you can replace high-calorie drinks (& also foods) with it. It also reduces appetite and increases satiety. Thus you automatically eat less and the weight is reduced.

Peppermint Tea

Peppermint tea is a great appetite suppressant and boosts digestion. Thus, your calorie-intake is automatically reduced which brings about weight loss.

Ginger Tea

Besides adding a pleasant aroma to the tea and having numerous other medicinal properties, ginger also works towards weight loss by boosting digestion and metabolism. Gingerol in ginger is the main component that aids in weight loss.

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea also acts as a diuretic and reduces water weight of the body. It is also a good source of vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, potassium and flavonoids. All these nutrients make you feel full for long and prevent overeating.

So, make a regular habit of drinking the flavorful tea to get freshened up and also reduce weight.